SWISS FIELD-WORK IX l'J04. 57 



t/iersaniun were the first butterflies I saw, but, on crossing the old stone 

 bridge, a path hedged in by willows and brambles and overhung by 

 cliffs and steep slopes covered with bushes and dripping with water, 

 gave me good sport. One of the first of my captures was Sijrichthu.i 

 tessellitm var. nomas, a very fine " skipper " indeed ; a worn Pamara 

 uiathias did not dift'er from Egyptian specimens ; Pu'ris rapae, Pontia 

 ilapliilice and Colias ediisa, were the common Pierids, and a few $ s of 

 Leptidia unapis g.a. diniends were taken. A little further on, a path 

 zigzagging up a hillside covered with aromatic plants, mint, thyme, 

 basil, etc., and dotted with little clumps of scrub oak and buckthorn, 

 gave me (T(»H'i>terij.c var. taiirica, more ('. alceae and Syrichthus orbifcr, 

 and numerous Cldladcs. tror/iilns and Yjihthima asterupc. Most in- 

 dividuals of the last two species were worn. On the wing, Y. asteropc looks 

 like our h'nodio hypeiantltHa, but its flight is weak, low and sinuous, 

 and I have seen it indulge in the jurtina trick of turning on its side 

 when settling on the ground. On returning from the exploration of 

 the slopes I took a worn Cj/aniris arijiolm g near the river, and saw 

 several Pohji/onia eyea, one of which I took. It was apparently one of 

 the early summer brood with a very light underside, and I may say 

 that all others taken up to oOOOft. showed this form. A single 

 battered ? of Liiiwnitu canUlla showed that the species occurred in the 

 valley. Parartje inaera var. (irientalix and some battered P. )neiiaera 

 were the only Satyrids with Y. aatcrope. One Chri/wphauKs var. deus 

 and some battered ( '. tliersainon var. oxiphale were the onty other 

 insects I took on the 7th, but, on the 8th, I worked the roadside and 

 quarries between Dbaych and the river mouth. Everything was burnt 

 and withered there, prickly plants abounded, and, in consequence, the ( '. 

 tliersainon, Y. asteropc, and Pontia daplidice I took were mostly tattered. 

 Melitaea triria was, however, in good condition, and I got a short 

 series, and, on steep banks covered with Cappjaris, Idinais (Teracoliis) 

 faiista flew at a wild speed. The heat was very trying, but I took 

 several specimens of this lovely butterfly and noted solitary and 

 uncatchable Papilin machaon and Danais chnjsippiis. The latter was 

 flying in some numbers in the cultivated delta of the Nahr el Beyrout. 

 On the 9th I went up to some promising looking plantations at 

 Daqueni some soOft. up and about S miles north of Beyrout. Here I 

 drew blank, but, below these disappointing woods, I took, on a bit of 

 common, sparsely wooded, two specimens of a small form of Melitaea 

 jilmebe and a worn J of <,'i<iaritis acanias. C. tliersainon occurred here, 

 and, in a hedge, I saw trees of " fitneh," or some acacia like it, the pods 

 of which bore traces of larval depredations. Wondering whether 

 Hiipobpaena liria occurred in Syria, I watched the bushes round 

 which two or three Lycsenids were flying, and, after a while, took two 

 rather worn Lanijiides jesoiis {^ and 5). Other specimens were so 

 worn as to be not worth killing, but I remained for some time to see if 

 I could detect oviposition, but without success. On my way back to 

 Beyrout I saw Papilio niacliaon and Lainpides boetieiis in gardens with 

 more Pmititi daplidice and Idinais fausta. 



Swiss field-work in 1904, with notes on some noteworthy 

 variations in Lepidoptera. 



lly P. A. H. MUSCHAMP. 

 This year (1901) has been a remarkable one for the Swiss lepidopterist, 

 a season to be remembered for many a year to come. Never in the 



